Hidden Love
by DarkBelieverAnge
Summary: things are never what they seem. what would happen if everything unraveled in an unexpected twist? rated T because of some language. there is one character from ff7 and one character from ff8 that are included.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Omigod! Did you hear what Sora's done now? He slept with a teacher over break!" one of the preps whispered. Kairi just rolled her eyes as she went to her locker. She was getting her books but she was forced to listen to the preps gossip. Great, just another thing to make her day even **better.** She couldn't believe that they didn't have the decency to wait until they were in study hall. No, they had to gossip right out in the hall.

"He went to his father's exclusive beach house and took the young English teacher! According to his father's servants, they didn't leave his bedroom for twenty-four hours! Plus, they heard a ton of groaning. It was totally disgusting!" the other one said. Kairi finally snapped.

"So then why are you talking about it like idiots? She's just an English teacher. Not a good one, but she's just a weak-willed woman. If she didn't have the guts to stand up to him, then she's not a woman. She's just a **girl,**" Kairi said and slammed her locker closed. Then, Roxas came up to her. She smiled at him.

"So, what's up with my twin today?" he asked. She filled him in and he just laughed. "Man, that's new. I thought that he went to the tropics with a girlfriend," he laughed.

"Apparently the English teacher is his current girlfriend," Kairi said as they went down the hall. Roxas took her hand and held it. She smiled up at him tenderly. They had been going for a year. They had been friends since elementary, but when she had finally confessed her feelings to him, he had asked her out, she immediately said yes. They had been going out ever since. They were the most unlikely couple because they had opposite backgrounds. She was poor and lived with her brother. He was rich and lived with a family that didn't really care what he did. She almost felt sorry for him, but his kind personality ruled that out. There was nothing that could go wrong with their relationship. She was sure of it.

Across the hall, Sora stood next to Riku. He bumped his butt against the lockers and smiled at every girl that went by. They all blushed and some almost swooned. He noticed Kairi and Roxas but kept looking at other girls than the one he wanted to. Riku laughed silently.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" he asked. Even though he asked this question so many times, he already knew what the answer was going to be.

"And ruin her perfect relationship? Hell no. I would rather have her in bliss than to be hurt again," Sora curtly said. Riku sighed and got their books.

"She's gonna find out that it wasn't you who took that English teacher down to your father's beach house," Riku said. Sora scowled but just continued to look ahead.

"She'll never find out. Dad covered all the bases. I made sure of that," Sora said. "Even the servants that were paid to tell other households information were given bonuses to keep their mouths shut about the true identity. They all said that it was me and not **him.** We made sure that I brought her there and home." Riku just shook his head. Hayner took that moment to come up and slap Sora on the shoulder.

"You horn dog. You did a teacher over break. I am so proud of you," Hayner said with a fake tearful expression. Sora put on a fake smile and started strutting around the hall. The girls, as they usually did, swooned when he walked by.

Kairi groaned when Riku, Sora and Hayner came walking through the classroom door. She didn't want to see them yet. She looked toward the back of the room and smiled at Roxas. He winked back and she blushed. Then she looked across from her and saw Sora sitting across from her. Selphie took the other seat and hugged Kairi.

"How was your break?" Selphie asked. Kairi grinned.

"It was horrible without Roxas. Even though Roxas had to go on a family vacation, he sent me flowers everyday. That was how I got through it," she said with a sigh. Sora snorted under his breath. Kairi whipped around to look at him. "Just what are you snorting about?"

"Nothing, princess," he sneered. He turned his attention to the teacher and promptly fell asleep. Kairi glared at him but went to talking with Selphie.

"Well, I have something to tell you! Olette and that Hayner guy hooked up over break! I couldn't believe it!" Selphie whispered.

"Sounds just like his best friend," Kairi said. Sora was just lightly snoring. Yuffie, who was in the back of the room, threw a paper note to Sora and it jerked him awake. He looked down and then handed it to Kairi. She just scoffed at him, but it was too late. He was already asleep.

"I'll take that," Riku said from behind her. Kairi turned her head just a fraction. "I'm his secretary of sorts. Even if I don't like to be." Kairi just rolled her eyes and handed him the note. She heard Riku sigh lightly before turning back to the notes on the board.

When the bell rang, Sora jerked awake and yawned. Kairi just glared at him. He just shrugged it off. He was used to it. Not as if she had a good reason to like him. His perfect brother was the one who everyone loved. Sora rubbed his eyes and got up. He bumped into Yuffie. She smiled a friend smile and he smiled back. She nodded toward Kairi but then left the room. Sora looked at Riku. Sora's cell started ringing immediately.

"Hello?" he said.

"Man, you have a lot of nerve not calling me during your break. I will come up to that school and kick your ungrateful ass. Got it memorized?" Axel shouted. Sora laughed.

"How you been?" he asked.

"My sister's been drivin' me nuts. But, I love her. Y'know how it goes," Axel said as Sora laughed.

"Nah, man. I got a brother, remember?" he laughed.

"Same thing," Axel said.

"If she heard you say that…"

"Yeah, I know. She'd kill me. Still haven't told her about the boyfriend. But I want to beat him to a pulp every time I see him. Got it memorized?" he almost yelled.

"Dude, you gotta calm down," Sora said. "I'll handle it. Besides, don't you have to get back to work?"

"Shit!" and the line went dead.

Riku just shook his head and went out of the classroom. Sora just grinned.

_**A/N: what did you think? Yeah, I know that Axel is supposed to be totally loyal to Roxas. But I just wanted to stir it up since this in an AU. Please review and tell me what you think. I would love to know what you think. I'll update soon, I promise.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Kairi ran down the hall to the library. She was late for her history class because she and Roxas were kissing behind the lockers. They hadn't heard the bell, so they didn't know that they were late.

And her history class was in the library because they were doing a project. She hated history. It was the most boring class that she had. She couldn't believe that she was stuck in the stupid class for a whole hour. The hour seemed like a day by the end of the period. She sighed and pulled the library doors open. Her history teacher was there and had his arms crossed.

He had a dented forehead and very beady eyes. He had glasses and he had to squint at everything to see it. His head was almost completely bald and he had no shame whatsoever. He was a demented man who had a shameless sense of humor. He was a good teacher though.

She came and sat down at a table. He came over and handed her a paper silently. Then, he looked at her in the eyes.

"Your partner's going to be Sora. Names were drawn and everyone has to deal with the choices that were drawn. So deal with it and no complaining," he stated and left her alone. Sora came over and sat down. Kairi glared at him.

"Why do I have to be partnered with you?" she asked. He just smiled at her warningly.

"I have to deal with you too, so don't make a big deal out of nothing," he said. He pulled out the paper and looked at it. "We have to choose an ancient civilization and learn everything about it. The religion, society and form of government are the first priorities…"

"Let's choose Greece. It's quick and easy," Kairi said as she opened her notebook. He put a hand up.

"Nah. Let's pick a complex one. I mean, like the Egyptians is a good one… or how about the Mesopotamians? They were a large one as well… maybe the ancient Chinese, Japanese, Indian or even the ancient Celtic cultures," Sora said. Kairi looked at him surprised. He just chuckled at her expression.

"You actually thought that all I know is sports and screwing women?" he asked in a joking manner.

"Yes, I did," she said with a curt nod. His laughing increased until all the other students were looking at them. He quieted and started looking at the sheet of paper with all the requirements on it.

"We can split the responsibility," he said. "So we don't have to see each other very much… I'll take the bottom half. You can take the top half." Kairi just looked at him and nodded. She had seen a different side of him today and wasn't sure of how to make out of it. He had caught her completely off guard. He just smiled when the bell rang and took off like a shot. Olette came up behind him and caught his arm. He turned and smiled a full-blown charming smile at her. Kairi rolled her eyes in disgust and rushed to her locker.

Sora couldn't believe that he and Kairi were teamed up on a project. As soon as he got Olette off of his arm, he went toward Riku. He slumped his shoulders and sighed. Riku just raised an eyebrow.

"She and I are partners in history," Sora said. Riku nodded silently. "She came into history with puffy lips… it was so obvious what she had been doing before class. Man, whenever I see them together…"

"You promised your father that you would hold those feelings in. you promised your mother," Riku stated calmly. Sora swore under his breath.

"Oh, yeah, I promised my mother that I would protect the bastard son of my father's mistress because that son is gonna be the heir. I promised my mother that I would protect my stepmother, who stole my father away from my mother. Very nice. Did I ever tell you that I have no idea what happened to her? My good old dad just dumped her off somewhere with twenty bucks and said goodbye. Such family love," Sora spat out. Riku looked at him.

"You never told me that," Riku said with his eyes big. Sora rolled his.

"Couldn't tell anyone, ever. My mother is out there suffering somewhere and my father wants me to cover everything that his perfect son does up," Sora scoffed. "I just pick up the messes…" he started walking down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Riku called out.

"Gonna go see a friend. Have a good math class for us," he waved and went out into the parking lot.

Kairi came into math early because she wanted to talk with Sora. That was a first because of the fact that she hated him. He was an arrogant maniac, but he was her partner in the history project. She waited at her desk and saw Riku come in and sit down. She turned and looked at him.

"Where is he?" she asked. Riku looked up.

"He had somewhere to be. It was urgent," he said and looked down at his books.

"What do you mean by that?" Kairi asked. Riku sighed and looked up.

"He had to go see a friend about something because something happened at home again," Riku said and looked her straight in the eye. "And don't ask because I don't know. He doesn't tell me anything."

"How do you do it everyday?" Kairi asked. "Sora would drive me crazy." Riku sighed and looked at the board, jotted something down and looked at her.

"When I was about five, I was kicked out of my house. My father was abusive. He used to hit me every night when my mother was gone to work. When she found out, I was put on the streets. It was like I was nothing… I wandered for about two weeks. Then one day, when I was almost dead from starvation, a young boy and his mother came up to me. She knelt down and gave me her food. Her son just looked at me. He looked at his mother and said, 'Mother, can we keep him? I like him.' Those two gave me a home and I have been repaying Sora ever since," Riku said. Kairi looked at him.

"What happened to his mother?" she asked. "Don't Roxas and Sora have the same mother?"

"No, they don't. Sora's mother was his father's first wife. They divorced and he married the one he loved, Roxas's mother. Because of that, Sora isn't the heir anymore," Riku said as he took notes. Kairi just stared at him. What was he saying?

Sora stood outside the bar's door. He sighed and went in. he needed to talk to a friend. He walked to the bar and sat down at a stool.

Tifa came out of the kitchen and smiled when she saw him. She set down a soda and put her hands on the counter.

"What's up today?" she asked.

"Just thinking about my mom again," Sora said while looking at his drink. He sighed and then looked at Tifa. She wasn't Axel, but she would do in the advice area.

"Why don't you try to find her?" Tifa asked. Sora nodded.

"Yeah, I could do that," he said and finished his drink. He got up and looked toward the stairs that were in the personal living quarters of the house.

"She doesn't get home until three at the latest," Tifa said, knowing that he was thinking of Kairi.

"Am I that obvious?" he asked. Tifa nodded.

"Only to those who know you," she said as he went through the front door. She just sighed. That boy was a handful. Just like he was when he was with his mother. He had come to the bar one day with his mother. They had asked for some food for a young boy that they had found. Sora's mother, being an old friend to Tifa's mother, had her request granted. Tifa's mother, at Sora's baptism, had been made Sora's godmother. He would always have a home at the bar; Tifa would always make room for him.

Kairi sighed as she made her way to English class. It was her last class of the day, and her only one with Roxas. She came in happy and cheerful. She saw Riku sit down in front of someone and then he turned back. She saw the brown spiky hair and couldn't believe that Sora was here.

"Where were you?" Riku demanded in a quiet undertone.

"I went to see my godmother's daughter," Sora replied. Sora had a godmother? That was news. Then, everything went out of Kairi's head except Roxas. He was sitting in the back and had saved her a seat. She rushed back and flushed when she saw him.

"Hey, sweet thing," he said as she sat down. Kairi smiled tenderly back at him. They focused on class after that. They held hands all through though. At the end of class, the English teacher, who was the one that Sora slept with on break, had a couple of class announcements.

"There will be a joint project with the history class. I am assuming that you all know who your partners are. This is a free time project. You will not be given class time to work on your reports here. You will have to hand them in with both names on the report. The minimum pages will be ten. Also, Roxas, I need to talk to you after class," the teacher said as the bell rang. Kairi turned toward him. Her eyes held a sadness.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I promise," he said. She nodded and then went out. Sora just looked at his brother and waited until Kairi went out of the door.

After Kairi and the others left, including the English teacher for a few moments, Riku pulled the door shut. He sat down at the front of the room and waited for Sora.

"What the hell are you doing? You told me that you were going to end your relationship with her!" Sora yelled at Roxas. Roxas shrugged.

"She was good in bed. I can't resist her," Roxas said. "Besides, Kairi isn't giving me any, so I got to get something somewhere right?" Sora turns red and starts shaking with pent up anger.

"You better not hurt her," he said.

"Or what?" Roxas said. Sora just went to the door and went out with Riku. He couldn't look at his brother right then because he would have punched his face in.

Kairi was waiting for Sora at his locker. He came up, not even noticing her, and punched the adjacent locker. He put his books in and silently cursed. His face was a mask of fury. Kairi reached out to touch him on the shoulder.

When he felt the hand, he jumped back and looked at the person who extended the hand. Kairi smiled at him lightly and he nodded. All he did was stare at her.

_**A/N: I am so sorry for making Roxas look like a bad guy. I actually love him, but I had to do it!! I don't mean too, but the story is pointing me. The characters are telling me what to write. Please read and review! Btw, the regular disclaimers stand.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kairi sighed as she looked back at the three-story high school. The freshman and sophomores shared the top level because they took the same classes. The juniors had their own floor, as did the seniors. The seniors, though, had a couple of private rooms and a game room. The seniors had the bottom floor. They had the gym, auditorium and the staff meeting rooms. The offices were in another wing of the first floor. The administration kept as far away from their students as possible. But, it was all right. The underclassmen always passed the seniors on their way up to their classes. They had their own cafeterias and kept to themselves.

The hallways in the school were long and straight. There were four corridors. The four corridors had different subjects to teach. One was for any science and math. The second was for the social sciences. The third one was for the English and language classes. The last one was for the free periods. The library is four stories high and it has books on all stories. The books that are most needed in each grade are put on the floor that need them. Students can socialize with each other, but they do not find the time to do it in school hours.

The students had a free quad area to relax during break. But that was only for the seniors. They were all there when there's good weather. Kairi laughed as she realized that the lockers on each floor were a different color. Black for the freshman. Blue for the sophomores. Red for the juniors. And green for the seniors. They all jumped for joy at the change in colors every year. But, Kairi thought, she didn't care this year because it was her last year of high school.

She walked out to the senior parking lot. There were three parking lots. The staff had the one closest to the building. The seniors had the next one over. The last and farthest went to the juniors, if they had their licenses. Many juniors drove without a license, but none of the school officials really cared one way or another. Kairi herself had her license, but no car. She always got a ride home for Selphie or Olette.

Olette may have slept around a little, but she was no slut. She had always laughed it off and said, "If men can do it, so can't women." She was feminist that way. She always said that if a man can do a job, a woman could somehow find a way to do the job better. But, that was Olette.

Selphie didn't really like her because of the simple fact that Olette spoke frankly. Selphie loved to gossip. That was Selphie's thing. She did have a secret crush on Kairi's brother. She didn't know that Kairi knew about it. His flaming red hair and green eyes made her swoon, at least according to her diary. But, it didn't matter to Kairi. Axel was Axel.

Sora walked out into the quad and went to a picnic table. He sat on the tabletop and took out his cell phone. He called his father.

"Father, he's at it again," he said formally. Sora's father looked just like Roxas. Sora looked just like his mother. She had been a strong and determined woman. She and Sora's father had married out of what was first love. But, being under the stress that rich families are under, their love quickly turned to bitterness. When she was pregnant with Sora, she had discovered that her husband was keeping a mistress. She disappeared for unknown reasons when Sora was seven. Roxas's mother married their father and Sora and Roxas became "twins" because they were born a month apart. Their father didn't want the public to know that his beloved son was a bastard child.

"You handle it. That's your job," his father's curt voice said.

"Sir, I have handled it to the best of my ability. He's digging himself a deeper hole because he loved screwing her," Sora said crudely. Across from him, Riku cringed.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME THAT WAY!" his father's voice roared. Sora sighed and waited for what would come next. "YOU ARE KICKED OUT OF MY HOUSE! YOUR THINGS WILL BE AT THE END OF THE DRIVE WAY TONIGHT!" and he promptly hung up. Sora sighed and rubbed his spiky hair. Riku looked at him mutely. Then, the moment that Sora was going to speak, Yuffie came over. She hopped right in front of him and her black eyes danced with mischief.

"He finally kicked you out," she said laughing.

"Duh," Sora said as he looked at her. She had a small, shapely body. They had dated on and off again for the last couple of years as friends, and she understood that he didn't want commitment. She was waiting for an older man. He had said that he would consider it when she graduated. Sora highly doubted it. The man that Yuffie was in love with was as cold as ice and only one woman had softened his heart. She had disappeared one night. She had called him up and asked if he could come over. The guy stayed by her side until she was gone. Then, he had closed up like a hermit crab. Yuffie had met him a couple of months ago and had fallen heads over heels in love with him. Literally. She fell and her heels went over her head. She had a minor concussion. He had carried her all the way to the hospital. It was the best ride of her life, she had later told Sora. Ever since, she's been glued to his side when she wasn't busy.

"Whatcha gonna do now?" she asked as she sat down next to him. Sora shrugged. Riku looked at him with a calculating gleam in his eye.

"I have an idea. It gives you extra time with **her**," he said. Sora brightened and dialed a number.

"Teef, we need a place to stay…"

Kairi came home later than usual. Selphie had wanted to go shopping and it had taken them an hour just for her to pick out a dress for some dance on Friday. Selphie went to all the school events because she wanted to know what was happening when it happened. Kairi always joked with her that she would be the perfect journalist. Selphie had agreed earnestly.

Before Kairi came into the bar, which was the front door for her apartment on the second floor, she noticed a car. It wasn't an expensive one, but it was a newer Chevy model. It wasn't Axel's car because her brother had a beat up one. Kairi just looked in confusion but went into the bar. She walked right past the bar and went upstairs. She normally watched TV until her brother got home. She went up the stairs and dropped her bags on one of Tifa's leather chairs. She and her brother had been living with Tifa since their parents had died two years ago. Tifa, whose mother died five years ago, readily welcomed the company. She and Axel shared the expenses and had a huge bank account savings built up. They were, in a sense, a couple. But, what the public didn't know, they were more like brother and sister. Kairi flopped down on the couch and flipped the TV on. She started watching the show until she heard someone come up the stairway. She held herself erect until the person turned on the carpet under the top of the stairs. She turned and threw a pillow.

"WHOA!" was yelled before the person fell. Kairi flew up and looked around for a weapon. She found a hard cover book. She was about to hit the person when she heard the laughing.

"Sora?" she asked. He laughed and laughed until he was almost crying.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, gasping for breath.

"I thought that you were a burglar!" she yelled at him. She hit him anyway and he started laughing all over again.

"Kairi!" Tifa's voice boomed from the first floor.

"What?" Kairi yelled back.

"Leave my god-brother alone!" Tifa yelled as she came up the stairs. She heaved Sora up. Then she pushed him out of the way. "He's going to be staying here for a while. He and Riku have no place to go."

"What! What if I have to go on a date!" Kairi yelled. Tifa looked at her.

"You have a boyfriend?" she asked. Neither Axel nor Tifa knew that Kairi was going out with Roxas. Kairi silently cursed herself. Sora grinned.

"You never told her?" he asked smugly. Kairi started blushing.

"Roxas and I are going out," she said. Tifa just looked at her shocked. Then she looked at Sora. Sora shrugged and went down the hall with his bags, which he had picked up without Kairi noticing.

"Same room, Teef?" he called from down the hall. Tifa owned the whole building where her bar was. The bottom floor was a kitchen and a bar. During the day, Tifa ran a restaurant. At night, it was a bar. Luckily Tifa had a couple of people working for her so that she could get some rest during the day. She kept books too. If she noticed anything wrong, she questioned all of her employees immediately. Though Tifa loved them all, she still had that untrusting streak ever since her mother died. Kairi wondered why she was letting Sora stay with them.

The second floor was the living quarters. Tifa had two hallways. One was to the bedrooms and such. But right by the stairs was a living room. It had three leather chairs, a coffee table in front of a four-seater couch and a huge plasma TV. After the living room was a door. That led to Tifa's room. On the other side, because there was another open side, there was a mini kitchen and a table with two chairs. They ate downstairs at the kitchen because it was just a long counter with a huge table. Tifa's formal place was the bar. Anyone coming in during the day would be served there because the kitchen was behind the bar. A curtain separated the doorframes. She also had a curtain for the stairway hall. No one entered past the curtains. No one dared to mess with Tifa's temper. But, other than that, she had a huge family of friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas were always crowded. They all had the times of their lives because of the fact that it was family.

In the huge apartment, Tifa had about five bedrooms. There were four bathrooms. One downstairs, right by the kitchen, one in Tifa's room and the other two sharing the two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was an adjoining one with the bathroom in the middle. The other two were separated. Each was more than ten feet. They were sometimes around fifteen feet. Tifa's room was huge, but no one except Tifa went in there.

"What if he brings his women here?" Kairi called out. Riku came up the stairs then and just nodded to her. Great. A house full of men. Arrogant men. Just a good old coincidence.

"He didn't last time, and he won't this time," Tifa called out. Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" she yelled. Tifa came out of the hallway and brushed her hands on her pants. She looked at Kairi.

"Before you came, Sora stayed for a few weeks. That was his goodbye to his godmother. She had demanded to see him before she died. He couldn't make it to the funeral because of his father. She knew that. So, she insisted on having him come here. He did for about a month," Tifa said. She had a sad face on but then cleared it off. "I have to open shop soon. Get these two comfortable and make sure that you all do your homework. Axel will be home before six tonight." She zoomed down the stairs and went into the bar. Kairi sighed and looked at Riku. He smiled lightly and took his bags back to his room.

Sora sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. This room hadn't changed a bit. It still had the desk, window and the stars on the ceiling. He had put them stars on himself, when he was here. Tifa had laughed at how stupid he was being. Her mother called him ingenious. Sora smiled at the memory. He heard footsteps.

"The one from across mine, Riku!" he yelled. There was a bathroom separating the hallway. The adjoining bedroom was on Riku's side of the hall and took up until almost the stairway. Axel had the one overlooking the stairway. Kairi's was right across the hall from Sora's. Sora had known that when he had called Tifa that afternoon. She had said absolutely and told him to get his butt over to the house. He had gone into his father's mansion one last time…

He went into the study. His father was there, sitting behind the huge desk. Sora just looked at him.

"_I'm not coming back this time," he said to his father. His father looked at him with those light blue eyes. His hair, which had once been a spiky light blond, had been cut and trimmed. There was still some spike, but the hair was so close to his head that you couldn't see the spike. He had aged with frown lines, instead of smile lines. Roxas took after him a lot. Even though Sora had his facial features, everything else came from his mother. _

"_Good. I might have some peace," his father said coldly. Sora sighed. He knew that his stepmother was listening right outside. How she put up with this man, Sora would never know. She was petite, though, unlike the tall men that surrounded her. It made her seem frail, which she was. She depended on her husband for everything. He had total control over everything she did. Sora's mother had been willful and independent. When his father had been trying to control her, she would go in the opposite direction. That was who she was._

"_Sir, I hope you have a good time with the family that you always wanted. I will ask nothing of you from this day forward," Sora said and walked out. He didn't look back._

Sora sighed. He didn't know what he would do next. Obviously, he would live. But he had to find the woman who meant the world to him.

_**A/N: I am sorry. Axel's appearance will have to be delayed until next chapter. I'm still trying to think of how to introduce him correctly. Axel has to have the perfect entrance, or else the rest of the chapter is ruined. Well, I hope you enjoyed this long chapter. Believe me, it's a lot longer than I normally write. But, I'm trying to expand my ideas. Please review and until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sora coughed and coughed until flam came up out of his lungs. He lay back on his bed and sighed. He had been sick for a week. Apparently, all of his stress finally caved in on him. That was what Tifa's doctor had said. She made sure that Sora was put to bed, just like the doctor had ordered. She hadn't let him leave the room. She didn't even let him touch his homework. Not that he had the strength to protest.

Riku had been visiting every so often. Tifa had him working the kitchen duty. Riku had to wash dishes. He hated it, but he said, "I have to do something to earn my keep." He never knew that Sora had done that duty and more when he had stayed here for a month or two. Sora started to become drowsy…

It was a rainy day. The rain was pouring so hard that you couldn't see the person ahead of you, even when you were walking. A younger Sora, about thirteen, came to a bar sign and sighed. His father would kill him when he knew what he had done. He had packed up his "belongings" and ran away. He had wanted just a little bit of freedom. He felt like he couldn't breathe in his own home. Not that that place was a home. It was more like a prison. Sora had to protect his younger brother. Sora had to cover for his younger brother. Sora had to take the punishments for his younger brother. He was being the perfect older brother. He was being the caretaker to the heir of the family fortune. That was all he was.

_Sora's father had said, when Sora was around five years old, straight to Sora's mother's face, "I didn't marry you because I loved you. I married you so that you could produce me a caretaker for my other son and my soon-to-be wife." His mother had stood there and smiled coldly. She held Sora to her hip, as if to protect him._

"_You will not have him forever," she had said to his father. "Arthur, he is half you and half me. You will see what side he shows."_

_For a woman with a difficult marriage, Sora's mother had been happy. The servants around the mansion loved her because she treated them like humans. Arthur's business partners loved her because she was a charming hostess. But, the one thing that they never knew about her: she didn't do it for her husband; it was all for her son._

_She had Sora's hair color and eye color. She never wore makeup because she hated the stuff. She had once told him, "If I was meant to be prettier, I would have been." She was a beautiful woman in her own right. She had a straight nose, high cheekbones and a natural blush. She was always smiling, no matter what was wrong. She would laugh freely and play with Sora. She had a slender figure that she never showed off. She was always in the garden houses tending to her plants, so she was never concerned with her looks. But, when the time came, she would dress up. Her hair, which was all the way down to her back, would go into almost any design that she wanted it too. It was long and straight, but she would always curl it. She loved curls, she had once told Sora, because they were wild and free._

_Her personality was independent. She had only married Arthur to displease her father, because he had always been opposed to the marriage. As a marital agreement, she never talked to her family. That was where Tifa's mother came in._

_Tifa's mother, who was an older version of Tifa, had been a very old friend with Sora's mother. They grew up in the same neighborhood and had gone to school together. They were best friends. She had defied her parents and had married Tifa's father, who was a bartender, and had Tifa. Her parents had relented after they saw their granddaughter. They supported, or tried to, their daughter and her family. Tifa's father had died in a very bad accident. He had been in a fire and hadn't made it out. He was instantly cremated. Tifa's mother had been withdrawn at that time._

_That was also the time that Sora's parents had married. Tifa's mother, whose name was Michelle, had attended the wedding. She and Sora's mother had talked for hours. Michelle had gone and married after high school instead of going to college like her friend. That was the whole reason why her parents had semi-disinherited her. She was put back in their will when she showed them their granddaughter. She told her old friend this and more. They had, according to the story, talked for hours. After that, Arthur could not get Michelle away from the house._

_Year by passing year, Sora's mother had grown more independent. One day, Arthur had slapped her, right in front of Sora. She had sighed and felt her face. Then, she did the unexpected. She talked back to him._

"_Arthur, I hope you and Nerissa are happy together," she said coldly. "We are done." She walked out, trying to take Sora with her. She took him up to her rooms and sat him down on her bed. Sora had been seven at the time. She looked at him right in the eye._

"_Baby, I love you. No matter what happens, always remember that. You are my boy. Always remember that," she said. She hugged him to her and whispered in his ear, "Go to your godmother's if anything ever happens… promise me!" he had promised. She had kissed him on the cheek then left. That was the last Sora had seen of his mother, Aceline. _

Sora came awake with a jerk. He looked around the room. Someone put a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Sh," the voice said. "I'm helping you…" Sora nodded, suddenly feverish. He collapsed on the bed and went in and out of consciousness for the rest of the night.

Kairi had come into Sora's rooms, to check on him. he had been thrashing in his bed and almost fell out. she held him and put him back into the bed. He was running a fever. Tifa had said that he would, and that she should expect. Kairi sighed and brought a chair from the table out in the living room into his room. She sat by his bed and started reading. Then, she heard him talk in his feverish sleep.

"Don't… leave… me…" he whispered. "I can't do this without you! Please, don't leave me! Mother!" Kairi put her hand in his.

"I'm right here," she said. He opened his feverish eyes. "Sh… I'm helping you… go back to sleep…"

**a/N: I am so very sorry that it has taken me a long time to update. I'm busy, but I'm also getting a ton of ideas for this story. I'm just taking it slow. Thank you for all the reviews and the favorites. I appreciate it and enjoy reading the reviews. I plan to update real soon… and it will be long, I promise! :3**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: there is a little of a time jump. They were on vacation in the last chapter… so, there's been about a two-week jump. I'm sorry that I haven't updated lately. I've been stressed and busy to the hilt and it's only getting busier. I'm going to try and update more. I mean, I've got hundreds of ideas for this story, I just don't know how to write them out yet or how to connect them together. Please bear with me and I hope you enjoy the story.

_**P.s. disclaimer: I don't own any of the KH characters… Square Enix does.**_

Chapter Five

Yuffie turned and sighed as Sora was going down the hall. He would never know what she actually felt for him. He had always had his cap set for Kairi. Ever since Yuffie had started going out with him, he would always make sure that _Kairi _was unharmed. No matter to his girlfriend. It was always _Kairi this, Kairi that._ He never mentioned her. Not once. Heaven forbid that he actually have a conversation with his girlfriend.

But that was in the past now. Sora and Yuffie had broken up when Yuffie had seen an older, more handsome gentleman. Now, she would do whatever she had to for the sake of getting him. That meant she would do anything.

Kairi stood at her locker waiting for her boyfriend. She was looking around anxiously. He was nowhere in sight. It was almost the bell for first period. He always met her here. Where was he, she silently wondered. He always met her before the first period bell. They would talk and catch up before they had to go their separate ways. She sighed in annoyance. He was distant lately, and she was determined to figure out why.

Sora stood in the background, just taking everything in. he saw his brother come from inside a janitors closet. Roxas had the biggest grin of his life on. Sora rolled his eyes at the sight. Then, they flew back toward Kairi. She hadn't noticed him yet. She hadn't noticed that he was going in the opposite direction. Sora sighed in relief.

As soon as he was done sighing, his cell phone rang.

"Yo!" came a very happy voice.

"What's up, man?" Sora asked. The voice on the other line chuckled.

"Mission was a success. I found him!" the voice yelled.

"Where was he?" Sora asked curiously.

"In a small ass little village in the middle of nowhere. He was beat up really bad, they'd said. He had slim odds of surviving. Surprisingly enough, he did. He's ready to come back home. Oh, and Chocobo head is ecstatic. He has an old friend back… though he's wondering what's been goin' on with his big sister," the voice said in a serious tone.

"Tifa's been stressing out. Like she always does when she doesn't know where you guys are. She's been pissed ever since you left out of the blue a couple of weeks ago," Sora replied to the voice.

"Don't tell her a damn thing. And don't tell my little sis anything either. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you guys getting here?"

"Later tonight. Thanks again kid."

"See you tonight." Then they both hung up. Sora laughed to himself. Tifa would kill them when she figured out what they had been up to the last couple of weeks. But the look of joy on her face would be enough to bear any punishment that she gave them.

Kairi made her way into her history class. It was still being held in the library. She didn't care either way because it was always a long walk from her locker to the quad where history was taught. She was near the science section, which was on the other side of the building. She normally had to run to get to her class. The library was right next to the English wing. So, it was a short walk.

She walked in and saw the teacher. A man with brown hair and silver eyes stood in front of her. He had a leather jacket on and a scar in between his eyebrows, gracing his nose. Kairi's eyes widened in surprise with a smile of delight on her face.

"Leon! I didn't know that you were in town!" she said to him. She ran over and hugged him. He hugged tentatively back. She smiled when they parted. He gave a small smile.

Kairi rubbed her head and he shook his. She laughed at him. He wasn't her older brother, but he was something like him. He was the quiet one, where her brother was loud and obnoxious. Suddenly, she missed him terribly.

Axel had gone overseas for "vacation." He had told her that he would be back soon, and that had been two weeks ago. She had promised him that she would watch over everything, but she missed him. It was always like that because of the fact that there were only two of them. Correction, she silently goaded herself, there was more like ten of them now.

"How's Aerith?" Leon asked Kairi. Kairi looked at him startled. He hadn't asked about Aerith in a long time. They'd gone out for about a year and then she had dumped him for Tifa's brother, Cloud. Cloud had been infatuated with Aerith since they were kids. Tifa had always teased him about it, or so the stories went.

"I haven't talked to her in a couple of weeks… I think that she's pregnant," she said hesitantly. He smiled and nodded.

"She deserves a child… she of all people loves kids," he said with sincerity. Kairi looked at Leon concerned.

"How are you doing?" she asked. He gave a barking laugh.

"Living. Everyday is hell since I lost _her_. I can't even think straight anymore. I wonder sometimes if I'm alive or not. Then reality bites me… but that year vacation helped… a lot," he said and a sad gleam came into his eyes.

"It was too sudden," Kairi said. Leon nodded and looked away. Yuffie was off in the distance making goo-goo eyes at him.

"She told me to visit every place that she wasn't able to, and I did. I went into the mountains, went to every beach and everything… she would have loved it," he said.

Kairi nodded. It had been a year and a half since she had disappeared. After he and Aerith had broken up, about four years ago now, he had met a woman with black hair and caramel streaks. Her eyes had been chocolate brown and they always had a spark of mischief in them. She had been the only one that could get Leon laughing until he cried. She always had a smile on and a secret one for him.

They had met at one of the dances that the school had been hosting. She had been a recent transfer student and hadn't known anyone. She had seen Leon in the corner. She had gone over and dragged him onto the dance floor. Leon makes a habit of not dancing because he has no ability to do so. She made him dance for four hours straight. She had been wearing a short white dress that night, he had said once. She had white shoes on. He said that he fell in love at first sight. She had asked him out and they had been a couple for two years. Then, the bad news had come…

But Kairi couldn't think about that right now. If she thought about it, she would go crazy.

"Leon!" Sora called out. Leon turned and smiled a brotherly smile.

"Little man… not so little anymore," he said. Sora rubbed his spiky hair and grinned up at Leon. He was talking quietly and low and fast to Leon. Leon's eyes had widened at one point, but he just kept nodding. Kairi watched on in fascination. They shouldn't know each other that well, she told herself silently.

Downtown, in a tall office building, a middle aged woman sat behind her desk. She swirled it around as her personal assistant came in. The woman's once long brown hair had been cut to around her ears. She had striking blue eyes though, that even in serious moments, held mischief. The wrinkles on her face were not from frown lines, but laughing lines. For that, she was grateful.

"He's living with your goddaughter," her secretary said. Her secretary was one of marvel as well. She had black hair with caramel streaks in them. Her eyes were chocolate brown and she always had a ready smile.

"So… what happens now?" the woman asked her secretary.

"You have waited for this moment for ten years, ma'am. It's your call," she said in a calm voice. Her boss smiled and got up out of her chair.

"Call my father. Tell him that he has an heir. He will find his grandson," she said and walked out of her huge office and went to a board meeting.

A/N: I wanted to give you, the reader, a little more insight on what I'm planning next. Sorry, but I can't break Roxas and Kairi up yet. I promise that Axel will be in the next chapter. I've been saving the best for "last" and I'm still trying to perfect his entrance. He'll be bringing a couple of characters with him for a "visit." I'm thinking I'm going to do something with Xemnas too. I just haven't figured it out yet.

I promise to update sooner than I did with this chapter… so many things have been happening and yeah… please read and review!

'Til next time~


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hello. I didn't think that I was going to update this soon… but oh well. Anyways… I decided to make this story an x-over. Not because it's going to be… it's obviously AU, but I'm going to use some characters in ff7 and ff8.

VergilTheart: Thank you for the review. I'm updating soon after this chapter, I promise!

Chapter Six

Kairi sat down at one of the library tables and began reading about a random country. Her project with Sora wasn't due until the end of the year. It didn't help that the history class would be held within the library until the end of the year. The wing that held the history classes was being reconstructed, so the classes were moved to the library. Just great. Another hour spent in the library because she could never get herself to go anywhere else. Kairi sighed and shook her head.

Sora came and slid into the seat next to her. She didn't look up at him, but knew that he was there. That was what she was doing a lot these days. She wouldn't look at him. The day after his fever was done, she had told him that nothing had happened. She couldn't explain all of the unwanted feelings that had coursed through her. She should be ashamed of herself. She had a boyfriend. She didn't need all these unwanted feelings about someone else.

It didn't help that she'd found out about his obsession with cooking. She had watched him in Tifa's kitchen. Those strong arms that he had accumulated suddenly were pumped when he was moving them. And that back. Kairi could write a book on his back. And that ass. She had never thought of herself as an ass person, but it seems she was. That was something totally new to her. With Roxas she never had these feelings. With Roxas it was always assumed that she loved him, but not flat out lust. She was afraid to spend anytime alone with Sora because of what he made her feel. She didn't know how to handle the feelings. She just couldn't think of what would happen if they were alone.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Sora asked her. She flushed and turned her head away from him. He was too perspective. He knew too much. Sometimes it was like he could read her mind.

Sora was puzzled when Kairi turned away from him. She had never done that before. What had gone wrong? He didn't know if he had done anything wrong. Women. You couldn't live with them or without them. Sora sighed as he got out his textbook. But, as usual, he took the opportunity to look at Kairi. She really had filled out, he thought. Her curves were in all the right places. Those hips made him want to lift her and swing her around. He didn't want to think about anything else. Hell, he dreamed about it.

So many times he had awakened and found himself sweating in the aftermath of one of his dreams. She was so sensual that she didn't even know it. Every time she blushed, he started thinking things that he shouldn't. He couldn't help it. She was everything that he could never have. She was his brother's, he always kept reminding himself, but that stupid prick didn't deserve her.

Downtown, Tifa stood behind her bar serving lunch. She was always busy this time of day and had no time to rest. So, she didn't notice the small crowd that came in. they were all men. There were three of them.

One had long spiky red hair and mischievous green eyes. He had black lines under his eyes that were tattoos. He wore leather like a prep wore polo shirts. He loved rock'n'roll and never once told a lie. Sort of.

The next one was a guy with short blond spiky hair. He had blue eyes and had a quiet temperament. He and his sister were nothing alike except for the fact that they shared parents.

The third and final one had shoulder length black hair and blue eyes. He held scars that weren't on his face, but on the rest of his body. No matter what he went through, he always kept his humor and one other feeling dominant. His love for Tifa had kept him going.

The other two nudged him forward. He nodded and dropped his bag next to Axel's feet. He went to the bar and stood there. Tifa came zooming down, but caught a glimpse of his face. She stopped short and looked right at him. Tears came down her cheeks.

"I'm home, sweetheart," he said. She jumped right over the bar and hugged him to her. He swirled her around until they both got dizzy.

_**A/N: that's it for now. Review and tell me what you think!!! **_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Totally unaware of the commotion at home, Kairi was staying after school to finish an English project. She hated English. It was a useless subject to her. Who wants to write papers about nothing all day? Sure, she loved reading, but she had no time for that. Every ounce of her free time was spent working at the restaurant with Tifa and sometimes, Cloud. Kairi was busy with homework and work. Why did she have to worry about a stupid paper? She had enough things to worry about.

Kairi was completely unaware of all the stares that she was getting. She didn't know that Roxas had come in and blatantly kissed the English teacher on the lips. Kairi, doing her homework, did not know anything about it. Then, all the gossip started.

Sora was out in the picnic area having a grand old time with Hayner, Olette and Riku. Yuffie came skidding to a halt in front of them. She leaned on her knees, catching her breath. When she did, she brought herself to a standing position and looked at Sora.

"Your brother just kissed that English teacher in the library. Kairi was there—" she was cut off by Sora's sudden movement. He ran toward the door near the English hall.

"Wait!" Yuffie yelled. Sora halted and looked back for a minute. "She didn't see anything!" Sora just looked at her in disbelief.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked. Yuffie explained the situation to him quickly. He nodded and then started to look thoughtful. He looked at Riku.

"No," Riku said. He was shaking his head fast and hard. Sora smiled and nodded. He ran toward the direction of the library.

Kairi was reading a book and doing a report when she heard someone sit down beside her. She glanced up to find Sora sitting next to her. He was grinning at her.

"Hey, what are you doing this Friday?" he asked loudly. She flushed bright pink.

"I have a boyfriend," she said impatiently. Sora gave her a crooked grin. She put her book and pencil down and sighed.

"What do you want, Sora?" she asked. He looked hurt at her for a minute. Then, he started to look cheery.

"I want to ask you if the boyfriend wants to come over for dinner Friday night," he said. Kairi nodded and beamed. Sora just smiled softly. He looked behind him where Roxas was glaring at him.

After Kairi got her work done, she rode home with Olette. Olette begged to come in, so Kairi let her. They had been close friends once, until Kairi had become isolated from everyone. Kairi never told anyone the reason for that, not even her brother.

They were chatting when Kairi heard a scream. Kairi rushed to open the door when she saw Tifa screaming at Aerith's belly. Aerith was six months along with Cloud's baby. She radiated from her pregnancy. Kairi smiled as she came in. she set stuff down on one of the tables. Then, she saw everyone.

"Zack!" she cried. She ran to him and hugged him. He had been like an older brother to her when she was younger. She hugged him tightly and he laughed and hugged her protectively. Then, she glanced around. She saw Cloud standing near Aerith. She went and hugged him to. They had a silent conversation, because that was what they did, before she turned to Axel.

He stood there in jeans and a rock band t-shirt. He put a hand through his long red hair and smiled his brotherly smile. Kairi smiled and tears came down her cheeks. They hugged forever. He whispered everything that he did abroad in her ear. She laughed when she wanted to and continued hugging him.

"Guys, what are we going to have for dinner?" a very hungry Aerith asked. Tifa laughed and then went to the kitchen. Zack followed her. That was what he did. When she didn't lead, he would. They were each other's support system. It had been like that for so long tat no one questioned it now. No one ever thought about his or her relationship in a bad way.

Sora came walking in a couple of minutes later with Riku. Axel broke off from Kairi and high-fived Sora. Sora laughed and then Cloud came over to give him a noogie. Aerith hovered like a protective sister, but kept her distance. Kairi laughed silently at the image it made.

A couple of minutes later, a very pissed Tifa came out of the kitchen. She glared at everyone then turned toward Zack.

"What do you mean that you can't stay?" she yelled at him. He sighed and spoke to her calmly.

"I have to go back," he said. "My tour isn't over yet."

"I can't deal with this. You've been gone for two years! I'm not allowing it!" Tifa yelled. Zack growled his answer at her.

"I am not giving up my job!"

"Yes you are! I need you here!"

"I want to be here, but I have responsibilities! I can't run from them! I'm not your father!" that hit a tender spot. Tifa's eyes glowed silver and her cheeks became ruby red.

"My father has nothing to do with this! I can't go on like this! It's either me or the highway!" she yelled. Then they all heard a tsking from the other side of the room.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Tifa, you are so much like your mother," a well-dressed woman chided as she came in the front door. She wore a sapphire colored suit. Her brown hair was held in a bun and her blue eyes glowed. She smiled at Tifa. Then she turned toward Sora.

He had frozen completely. He had been laughing when Tifa and Zack were arguing because it was normal. They would argue, make up and then argue all over again. He stared at the woman before them. Then, he took a step and another hesitantly. He stood before her and touched her cheek. He checked to see if she was real or not. Then, he collapsed and took her waist and held it to him. He cried into her waist. She bent down and held his head to her cheek.

"Hi, baby," she said. He held her closely. She smiled down at him. Tifa wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Hi, Aceline," she said. The woman smiled.

A/N: How do you like them apples? Review and tell me what you think because I'm not updating until I see 5 reviews. I don't mean to be mean, but I would like the reviews. Anyways… see that button that you want to push? Push it!

'_**Til next time!**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Kairi sighed as she fingered her hair. She had a huge test tomorrow. It wasn't a midterm or final, but it counted as one fourth of her grade. So, here she was in her dorm, studying her butt off. Sora had popped his head in just an hour ago to ask if she had wanted food. She had cursed him and Riku out of her room.

Kairi flipped the page and noticed that all the words were jumbled up now. She just stared at it as she thought of all the changes that had happened over a year.

She and Roxas were still dating, even though it was long distant. It was easier than she had to admit. She had started as a freshman at the local university, while he studied on the West Coast. What she didn't want to admit was that he wasn't her support system anymore. She had turned back to her family for support. He didn't understand that, but he accepted it because he would get shit if he didn't. That wasn't all that had happened in the past year, though.

Tifa had opened a new shop. It was a chocolate shop that was located in the building next to the bar. She had actually had a crossway built for the second story to connect the buildings. She lived in that building now, and allowed Kairi and Axel the old building. Her rooms were still closed off to everyone, though. She had laughed and said that they were her rooms. She had said that she was tired of running the bar all day and night. It was still there, but there was a manager. Tifa was happier now because she had family around her again. Part of that credit went to the fact that Zack was coming home. Tifa would just stare out into space after work until he would call. Then, he would call and she would be bossy as hell afterward. That had happened for one whole year.

Axel was a different matter. He would just laze around the house all day, doing nothing. His girlfriend, who he had told no one about, had broken up with him about six months ago. He had supposedly fallen in love with her, and now he was heart broken. He would never leave the house, so he lost his job. All he did was work in the bar. He had relied on his Kairi to do everything else. The first two months were the hardest for her because she was juggling everything. He would stare off into left field for hours on end. She had just shaken her head and worked around the house. After that, he started becoming aware. Now, he even talked. It was a huge improvement. He still had a long way to go, but at least he was still improving. Kairi loved her brother enough to not argue when he would start something.

Even though everything was bad with him, Leon still came by. He said that it was an obligation that he had to do. After all, Axel had bailed him up when he was down in the dumps. Leon had been acting strangely for the past six months. There was one incident when he had actually smiled. But that had been nothing that everyone had noticed. The fact that it wasn't noticed was Sora.

Sora had drastically changed throughout the year. His mother had asked him and Riku to move back in with her. He had refused, saying that he needed to stay with Tifa. His mother came over constantly. She wouldn't let him out of her sight on the weekends. Sora wouldn't mind. Neither would Riku. Riku loved the fact that she was back in Sora's life. Sora had become more attentive to everything after she came back. Aceline brought out the best in him, it seemed.

Riku had moved out of Tifa's apartment, and was living with Axel and Kairi. He had said that he wanted space from everything, and that was what he got. He would be cramped up in his room until it was supper. Then, after supper, he would go back again. Kairi and Axel left him alone because they did their own thing. Riku would come out happy and then go back sad. For some reason, there was something in that room that he loved. No one ever questioned him.

Leon was more of a frequent visitor. With Leon, came Yuffie. She would hang on his arm, and he would almost lose control and yell at her. Leon was still a loner, considering the fact that he didn't know about Aceline's secretary. If he knew that she was anywhere near him, he would go to her in a heart beat. But, she hadn't shown up at the right time for him to see her.

Kairi shook her head and got up. She had to concentrate on homework, or else she would be behind in her classes.

Sora stood on the street waiting for the woman that he was currently dating. Sure, his relationship with Kairi had changed, but she still only saw him as a friend. He was so sick and tired of waiting, so he finally moved on. At least, that was what his brain was telling him. His heart was loyal to her no matter what. He couldn't admit that, though. He couldn't afford to have her become hurt again.

Not that anything had ever hurt her. He just couldn't bear to see any expression except happiness on her face. That was why he would act like an idiot all the time. He would want her to smile. Just to see her smile was what made his whole day.

Thank God his brother was across the country. He couldn't cause that much trouble from across the country. Not that Roxas wouldn't try. He was beginning to complain to his father about all the responsibilities that he had been given when Sora left the house. His father had actually begged Sora to come back into the household. Sora had refused. Roxas was becoming a hand full for their father, and Sora refused to clean the messes up anymore.

His father still didn't know that his mother was located in town. She had told Sora to not say anything to anyone because she would introduce herself at her father's party. That party was within the next week. The whole family would be gathered together because his grandfather was officially naming an heir to the family fortune. Sora honestly didn't care who got it because he was making his own way in life. He ate off the money he made at one of his jobs, besides going to college. His mother paid his tuition, only because she had insisted. Sora didn't have the heart to refuse her.

A horn beeped, bringing Sora back to the present. He smiled as Olette got out of the door. She wore her hair at shoulder length, and her green eyes were huge and bright. Tonight, she wore a light brown skirt and a purple shirt. She smiled at him enticingly and motioned for him to get in the car. He nodded, and they were off.

After Sora took Olette to dinner, they made it back to her place. He smiled and led her up the stairs. She waited for him to come up with her, but he stayed on the sidewalk.

"I've got class in the morning," he said. She looked at him angrily and he put his hands in his pockets. "I've got two papers due tomorrow, too." She looked disappointed, but nodded. He said good night to her, and walked home.

Kairi was running toward the door when it suddenly opened. She had no chance to stop, so she hit the door and fell back.

"Ouch," she said while rubbing her head. She felt a hand on her forehead and another at the back of her head.

"Are you alright?" Sora's voice asked her. Kairi's neck swayed a little but she nodded. She winced after she nodded. She heard his sigh and was lifted into his arms.

"I'll take care of you," he said. He cherished her warmth for just a moment. He closed his eyes and hardened his heart. As long as she was with Roxas, she could never know that Sora loved her.

_**A/N: Hello!!! It's been almost two whole months! Man that was a long break. I can't believe that I left this story for so long!!!**_

_**But, I'm going to announce one thing before I start writing!**_

_**I'm going to skip one year in this story. I have an idea, but I can only do it if the characters are in college, so they will be. Lol. I hope you enjoy the story!**_

_**Disclaimers: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix does. The plot is mine, though. **_

_**Plot Plans: Okay, as I've stated, I'm going to have them in college… there's a memory that Kairi will share in one of her classes, which is Female Psychology. She'll be in that class with Yuffie, Olette and Selphie. Don't worry, Sora and Olette are temporary. That I promise!!! It'll only last like three chapters…**_

_**Besides that, there are new updates.**_

_**I hope that you review, because I love to read reviews.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Kairi rushed to her class in the library. The professor thought that it was better to hold their class in the library because it promoted the theme "silence outside of the classroom is key." Everything with this professor was weird. But, that was why Kairi found the class so interesting. It was female psychology. The professor was a psychologist who once fought for woman's rights in many third world countries. She never talked about it, but her students had done their research. She had been arrested countless times and had once had an Italian lover. The Italian lover had been a lord, and she had dumped him when she had learned that he was married. She had once been in court in Sudan, Lebanon and even Egypt. She never said anything, but she was exiled from those countries. She was half Egyptian and half Italian, so she was fairly dark. She had long dark hair and slanted eyes. She took more after the Egyptian side of her heritage. Her name was Kamari.

Kairi climbed the twenty steps to the library. She walked past the circular desk, and all the book sections. The library was divided by two sections: fiction and nonfiction. Being a college, the nonfiction was larger than the fiction. It was where most of the college students spent their time.

Kairi made her way to one of the rooms in the fiction section. The one that they always used was in the way back and had couches in it. There were only five students in the class. It was Kairi, Olette, Selphie, Yuffie and another girl who was called Kiara. Kairi liked her because the girl was down to earth. She had brown hair and brown eyes, but had a good personality. If anyone mistook her as plain and boring, they were sadly mistaken.

Kairi rushed into the room and sat down in the back. She smiled at the other four, noticing that their teacher was late.

"Where is she?" Kairi asked. Olette shrugged. Selphie just looked off into nowhere. Yuffie responded to her.

"She's gone to get a phone call. That was five minutes ago," she said. Kairi smiled and thanked her. Yuffie nodded. It was odd, but she and Kairi had become friends since their graduation. Olette had withdrawn from Kairi, and Selphie was having boyfriend troubles all the time. She had semi given up on Axel, but not completely.

Their teacher stomped in a couple of seconds later. She sighed angrily and smiled at the class. "As you know, this is a group discussion class. We all discuss our issues, how we can solve them and then you write me a paper for next class. Who wants to start?"

Olette raised her hand. The teacher nodded.

"Well, as you all know, I'm going out with Sora," she started. Kiara's eyes widened. "Anyways, we were on a date last night, and I asked him to come up to my place. We've been dating for like a month, and he says that he has a paper due today. He is so full of crap! He has been making excuses for the last week! I am a woman, not a toy! I have needs too!"

"Very good," the professor said. Kamari nodded to Kiara's raised hand.

"What if he really had a paper due today?" she asked uncertainly. Olette shifted her gaze to Kairi.

"Well, Kairi? Did he have a paper due today?" she asked sneeringly. Kairi mentally sighed.

"I have other things to worry about than Sora," she said. She didn't mention that she and Riku saw him walk around for half the night.

"Well, you always come up in our conversations," Olette sneered. Kairi looked at her questioningly. Yuffie intervened.

"They live next door to each other, of course he sees her everyday," she said smoothly. "I mean, it's not like they never run into each other. Don't you guys always have supper together?"

"Yeah," Kairi said. "Tifa makes us come over every night now that Axel's doing better."

"Your brother is doing better?" Kamari asked. Kairi nodded and smiled. "I'm glad… who's next?" Yuffie put her hand up.

"I have finally given up on my older man. No matter what I do, he doesn't notice me," she said sadly. Kairi thought of all the pain that Leon had gone through after losing the girl he loved, and didn't say anything.

"At least you had a man," Selphie said. "Mine won't even talk to me anymore. Hayner and I have successfully broken up as of this morning."

"You two will be back together tonight," Olette said. "Unlike me, you are getting your needs fulfilled."

"You can always go on your own," Selphie suggested. Kiara gasped.

"But that's betraying his trust!" she exclaimed. Olette's temper exploded.

"Yeah, well, I'm dating a man who is in love with another woman! He never looks at me the way he looks at her! All he does is look at her if she's in the room!" she cried out. Yuffie came up defensively.

"You don't even know the story, so don't make assumptions!" she yelled. Kamari just looked at all of them and silently thanked that the rooms were sound proof.

"What story?" Kiara asked. Kairi just looked ahead.

"I found out that Roxas has a kid," she said. Everyone stopped short and turned to her. Tears came down her cheeks. Yuffie instantly kneeled by her side.

"What happened?" she asked softly. Kairi looked at her and told what had happened.

"A couple of hours ago, I saw Roxas in town. This surprised me because he goes to school on the other side of the country. He had his arm around a woman, and his head on a boy who looked exactly like him. I just stood there frozen because I didn't know what to do… I went home and confronted Sora. He paled and told me that it was his kid. I yelled at him and told him that he was a lying son of a bitch. He told me that he had done it when we were in high school, and I just stood there. I could see the pain in the eyes, and I stood there yelling at him… he just let me yell. He said that he had never meant to let me find out. I said that he had destroyed my trust… and he stormed out," Kairi got out.

_She had come home from seeing the incident, and went right up to Sora._

"_Why couldn't you tell me that he was cheating on me?" she yelled at him. Sora looked taken back, but quickly recovered._

"_What do you mean?" he asked calmly. Kairi stomped around the living room._

"_He was with our old English teacher, and a baby boy. He was gripping her ass!" she yelled. Sora closed his eyes briefly._

"_That's my son," he said. Kairi looked at him unbelievingly._

"_The kid looks just like him! I don't believe you!" she yelled. "You are a lying son of a bitch!"_

"_No I'm not!" he finally yelled at her. "I'm just cleaning up his messes!"_

"_What do you mean by that?" she yelled back. Sora came right up to her and grabbed her waist. He pulled her to him and held her tightly._

"_He's been cheating on you for years," he whispered. His blue eyes softened as they searched her blue ones. "It was one of my duties to always make sure that I was the one scrutinized, not him." Kairi fought tears coming down her cheeks. Sora gently wiped them away. She put her head onto his chest and started to cry. He held her like that until she stopped crying._

"_Why?" she choked out. Sora lightly put a hand through her hair._

"_Because you weren't having sex with him," he said. Kairi cried all over again._

"_He always pressured me," she said. "I had told him no every time. I never told him that I wasn't a virgin, but I didn't want to have sex with him." Sora's arms tightened and he gathered her closer. _

"_I never meant to hurt you like this," he said. He brought her chin up so that they were looking at each other in the eyes. "I love you too much to let that happen to you." Kairi had gasped, but hadn't broken out of his arms. _

_He just hugged her until she had to go to class._

Yuffie smiled smugly as she looked at the expressions passing over Kairi's face. So, he had finally caved. It was about time. Olette had just seen anger and humiliation sketched on Kairi's face. She was happy that Kairi had shooed Sora away. Kamari clapped her hands together.

"Well, that's it for today… I'm sorry Kiara that we didn't get to you today. You'll be first on Wednesday," Kamari said. Kiara nodded and silently thanked her. Olette and Selphie rushed out of the room, followed by Kiara. Kamari got up and looked at Yuffie and Kairi.

"Will you two need the room for a couple more minutes?" she asked. They both nodded. She sighed and went out.

"Tell me what happened," Kairi said. Yuffie nodded and sighed.

"He was always covering for Roxas. Everything that you heard in high school was actually Roxas doing it. Every rumor about Sora wasn't true. He was always clean, except when he went out with me. But, we were just friends with benefits. He never treated me harshly, but I knew that he always loved you. He's loved you ever since that party sophomore year," she said. "The first time that he saw you, it was over. He fell head over heels in love. He told me that he had seen nothing like you. You had enchanted him from the beginning. So, he tried hard over the next two years to get your attention. That's why he was always rude to you. He just wanted your attention, good or bad."

Kairi nodded and looked up at Yuffie.

"My brother needs a girlfriend," she said. Yuffie laughed and thanked her for the information. They walked out, but Kairi was quickly stopped by a looming shadow. She looked up and saw Sora grinning down at her. She grinned back. Yuffie went on ahead of them to give them time alone.

"How was it?" he asked. She just shook her head. He grinned and took her hand. He kissed it and put it in his.

"When did you realize that you loved me?" she asked him. His steps slowed and he looked down at her.

"The first moment I saw you," he said. He didn't say anymore than that. Kairi looked at him.

"You were _him_," she said. Sora nodded. She just flushed and continued to gaze at him. Neither knew that Olette was watching the exchange of glances.

_**A/N: Yeah… well… that was kind of fast… but there are a couple of problems coming up… like Leon's thing, Yuffie's gotta get a guy… Olette's going to get "revenge"… hm… idk what else. Oh! Sora's mom and dad, I planned a whole chapter for that one… and a couple of minor problems.**_

_**Well, thank you for reading and if you want to review, then you can. **_

_**Until next time!!! **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Hello!!! Wow, can you believe that it's the eleventh chapter, already? Whoot!!! Well, anyways, I'm going to start writing. I promise, it's going to be long because a couple of things happen.**_

_**p.s. aren't you happy that Kairi and Sora are together? Well, some other couples are going to get together. Lol. **_

_**Have you ever wondered how secretary as a word, is broken up? My personal opinion it's "secret" and "ary". They keep the secrets from everyone, including the boss. Man, secretaries should have their own awards for what they do for their bosses. Now, that's just my opinion, so don't hold it against me. Sorry for the randomness. Time to get back to the story.**_

Chapter Ten

Aceline groaned as she looked at her agenda. Everything was meetings. There was nothing more than meetings. Her life had transformed into a big board meeting, all day, everyday.

"Come in here, please," she called to her secretary. Her secretary came in and sat files on her desk. She pushed back her long hair and smiled. She took her pen out and waited to take notes. Aceline looked at her.

"Rinoa, when was the last time we took the day off?" she asked. Rinoa stopped in mid-sentence. She just looked at her boss.

"Three years, two months and twenty-one days, ma'am," she said. Aceline chuckled. She swerved her chair to look out her windows. Her office was huge. She had two long couches, the far wall was all windows, and she even had her own bathroom. Rinoa had a smaller office, just adjacent to hers. Behind her desk were filing cabinets that took up a whole wall. It had one couch and chair in it. Most days, Rinoa stayed later to get all of the work done. She was pulling twenty hour days many times a week. She stored clothes and showering supplies behind her desk just in case.

"My father is having a benefit tonight," Aceline said. She grinned at Rinoa. "We are going to take the rest of the day off to get ready. We have to run over to my son's home and get him."

"It's been a week since you have seen him, hasn't it?" Rinoa asked. She mentally prayed that Leon wouldn't be there. They hadn't parted on good terms, and she had no desire to stir up past emotions. She was involved with someone now. She didn't need Leon back in her life. He was her past, not her future or her destiny. He was over with her. Rinoa mentally sighed as she didn't listen to her boss's monologue about her son.

"Ma'am, may I get ready by myself?" Rinoa asked. Aceline nodded.

**Rinoa's point of view…**

Rinoa rushed down a side street to her apartment. She didn't have any dress, and she needed to get her hair and nails done. She didn't worry about her shoes. She had tons of shoes. As she was about to get into her building her cell phone rang. She looked at the number. It was withheld. Closing her eyes, she opened the phone and answered.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey, babe," a masculine voice called out. Rinoa sighed in relief.

"What are you doing?" she asked. The man laughed.

"Getting ready for this benefit, of course. You coming?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm coming," she said. He laughed again.

"Then I'll see your beautiful self there," he said. She laughed and he hung up. She smiled to herself and went into her apartment building.

**Leon's point of view…**

He had been going down one of the streets in the upper town. He had turned his head in boredom and froze at what he saw on the other side of the street.

Rinoa. She had come home after all. The rumors he had heard were true. He couldn't believe his eyes. He could say something though, his heart started beating again.

She had been on a cell phone, smiling with joy and love. He couldn't believe that it was her. Just as he started realizing where he was, his phone started ringing. He answered it without even looking at the number.

"Do you have a tux?" Aceline's voice asked. Leon shook his head.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because my father is having this benefit and my son and his girlfriend need protection," she said. "His girlfriend's ex is very crazy. You know her… it's kairi."

"They finally got together?" he asked. Aceline laughed.

"Oh, and my secretary will call you with the rest of the details," she said.

"I didn't know that she was in town," Leon said. Aceline laughed again.

"Well, we can't control love or fate, now can we?" she said and hung up. Leon sighed. It was going to be a long night.

**Now, to the normal points of view: Sora and Kairi. You had to see the other sides first, and you can stew over who you think Rinoa's boyfriend is…**

Kairi rushed into the bathroom and locked the door.

"Kairi! That's not fair!" Sora shouted. She giggled and started turning on the shower. "We can share the shower!"

"NOT IN THIS HOUSE!" Axel's voice rang from downstairs. Kairi laughed again. She got in her shower and quickly cleaned herself. She got out and unlocked the door. Sora barged in.

"You done already?" he asked. She laughed and nodded. He grinned and gave her a quick kiss. He kicked her out of the bathroom. Kairi blushed and went down to her room. Ever since they had revealed their feelings for each other, she couldn't stop thinking about him. They talked and shared things with each other that no one else knew. She hadn't shared one of her bigger secrets yet, but she was about ready to.

She smiled and closed her door. She got dressed in a long black evening dress that went down past her ankles. It was sleek.

She came out and found both Axel and Riku in tuxes. She immediately saw that their bowties weren't on correctly. She went over and corrected them. They both blushed when she came up and tidied them up.

"I thought you two would know how to ties those things by now," Tifa commented from behind Kairi. Kairi turned and gasped.

Tifa had her hair up in curls. She had a knee length black dress. It was strapless. There was beadwork on her waist line and other than that, the dress was normal.

"You look beautiful," Kairi said. Tifa smiled.

"You do too," she said. Kairi blushed and thanked her. Sora came out in a tux and Kairi thought that she was going to faint. He came up and took her back.

"Are you ready?" he asked her. She nodded, unable to speak. Tifa looked at Sora.

"She and Axel have never been to events like these," she said. Sora shrugged.

"It's not like the grandparents are going to care. Just behave and they'll be fine with anything," he said. Tifa nodded and sighed. They all went downstairs through the bar and went out to the limousine that was waiting in front of the buildings.

Leon stood at the door looking surly. He opened the door and handed both Kairi and Tifa in. He let the guys get in themselves. Then, he went and got into the front with the driver. He gave directions and they were off to a mansion in the rich part of town.

Kairi gasped when she saw the three story mansion. It was made of brick and had a Victorian style entrance way. It looked like the old mansions in England.

"This is amazing," she said. Sora chuckled softly.

"Wait till you see the ballroom," he said. She smiled. They all went in and the butler escorted them to the ballroom. It looked exactly like the one out of **Beauty and the Beast**. Kairi gasped and Sora started swirling her around the dance floor. She smiled up at him.

"This is exactly like a fairy tale," she said. He smiled and twirled her. They came close and he hugged for one moment too long. He laughed and made her twirl again. They kept dancing, just the two of them.

**Aceline's point of view**

Aceline came in a long white gown. She smiled at all the people that nodded to her. She went into her father's ballroom and stopped. She smiled at the sight of Sora and Kairi dancing on the dance floor. All the other couples had moved out of the way to watch them.

"They suit each other," her father said. Aceline smiled and turned to her father. He was developing gray hair, but his blue eyes were vibrant. He looked like a sixty-five year old version of Sora. Sora didn't get his looks from his father, but from his grandfather. Everyone told him that he looked like his father, but in truth, it was exactly like his mother's father.

"Good evening, Father," she said. He hugged her lightly. She hugged him back.

"Are they all here?" he asked. She nodded. She saw Rinoa going over to confront Leon.

"They haven't figured out that you held this benefit just for drama," she said lightly. Her father laughed.

"I'm an old man. I need entertainment somewhere," he said. Aceline just shook her head.

"Father, you are an instigator," she said. He smiled.

"So, who's first on the agenda?" he asked. Aceline nodded toward Kairi and Sora.

"They look lovely together," she said.

"Yes, they do," her father said. He looked at his grandson with pride. There was his heir finding love and having a ball. The old man grinned and looked at his daughter. She had been through a lot, this fiery woman beside him. She had gone through a terrible marriage and divorce and had to climb the ladder of success. She did it all with just a blink of the eye and a grin.

"I invited Arthur," he said to her. She nodded, watching her son and Kairi. They matched each other, she decided.

"I'll deal with him in a moment," she said. She shifted her gaze to where Leon and Rinoa were standing. They were getting heated up over something, but she couldn't tell what it was.

**Rinoa's point of view…**.

She stormed over to where Leon was standing. He heard her stop in front of him and stood there rigidly. He smiled at her tersely.

"Don't give me that look," she whispered. He forced his smile even more. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm working," he said. She rolled her eyes and looked at him again.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him. He looked at her, and his silver eyes flared.

"Just to annoy you," he said sarcastically. She glared at him even harder. He started to smile, but held back. It was just like when they were going out in high school. She would argue with him until kingdom come because she would be relieving stress. He smiled at her and she glared harder.

"What are you smiling about?" she demanded. He looked at her and just shrugged. She hated it when he shrugged.

"BE THAT WAY THEN!" she yelled. "YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS! YOU NEVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY!"

"Even that time we snuck out of your mother's house to go down to the park?" he asked. She blushed. "This is a first. Having nothing come out of your mouth is a relief. You should shut up more often." She turned red.

"What the hell does that mean?" she demanded. He smiled at her tenderly.

"You never look around at what's the obvious," he said. He took her hand and laid it on his heart. Her eyes looked into his and they softened.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked.

"I let you go, four years ago," he said. "You took my heart with you. It was always with you." She started crying.

"You think that I could just get on with my life?" he asked. She just looked at him, all of her anger escaping her. She looked at him and didn't say anything.

"It can't work," she said. He looked at her incredulously.

"I don't want it to work between us," he said. "You're obstinate, stubborn and a pain-in the ass. I don't need that in my life." With that, he walked away from her. His back was to her, so she didn't see him smiling as he walked away. She was looking at him as though he was crazy. But that had always been Leon. He knew that she would be coming after him shortly.

**Aceline's point of view…**

"Well, here comes another confrontation," she said in an amused undertone. She turned her back to her father and started talking with a random business associate. She smiled to herself as she heard her ex-husband come up to her father.

"What is the meaning of having my son here?" Arthur demanded. Her father simply crossed his arms and smiled coldly.

"I thought that you did not care about my grandson," he said frigidly. Aceline laughed at something that the business associate said, but kept listening to her father.

"My son is not your grandson," Arthur stated clearly.

"Young man, you come into my home and start insulting me. What is the purpose of that?" her father asked.

"As you know, Jacob, my son has been disinherited from my estate. He is no longer the heir to my fortune," Arthur said. Jacob straightened his posture to the point where he was towering over Arthur. Aceline had married a short man compared to her father, and that was one fact that her father never let her forget.

"Sora is my grandson, young man," he said. "That boy is the one reason why I am still talking to you. If you want your company to survive, you will back off. Now, if you excuse me, I have to make a couple of announcements."

Jacob walked into the ballroom and cleared his throat. Aceline stayed behind Arthur, who didn't even know that she was behind him. When Jacob cleared his throat, everyone silenced.

"I would like to take this time to thank all of you that attended. The donations are going to saving our precious natural resources," he said. Everyone clapped. He smiled and nodded to Sora. "I would also like to take the time to thank my grandson for coming to my benefit. There were many other things he could be doing with his Friday night." Everyone applauded again. "But, most importantly, I would like to share some news with everyone…" he looked at Aceline.

"As you all have probably heard, a long time ago my daughter walked out on everything. She actually exiled herself to see what she was worth. She left all of her money in my hands. She left her son's welfare in my hands, so to speak. She even left me his trust fund," he smiled ruefully. "When she left town, she broke my heart. How could a woman who had everything just get up and walk away? But, she finally proved herself. She came up in the business industry that she was trained for. She quickly climbed the ladder of success and came back as one of the most powerful people in the advertising world. I can safely say that she is the new Director of Advertisement and Public Relations at my company. Aceline, come here please."

She smiled and made her way to her father. Arthur stood frozen as he saw his ex-wife go to her father. She smiled and took his hand.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said. He smiled proudly. She looked at her ex-husband. "But the person that I have to thank the most is my ex-husband, Arthur." Everyone gasped and looked at him. "Without you pushing me to become something that I didn't want to become, I was able to become something that I was capable of. Thank you for all the arguments that we had. Thank you for all the times that I almost walked out on you. Most of all, thank you for the opportunity to say that I earn more than you in a year." All of the women clapped madly. She smiled at her ex-husband evilly.

_**A/N: Whew! Long chapter. Took longer than I expected. There will be more Sora and Kairi stuff next chapter, as well as some memories that they share together. I just have to figure out how to write it out. I just wanted to cover the Leon and Rinoa base this chapter, and to have a confrontation between Sora's parents. That's not over, but it won't be mentioned for a while. Well, that was a good chapter, I think.**_

_**By the way, there's this awesome story you should read, if you like this one!!!**_

_**The Game of Love **__** by BallroomBlitz is one of the best stories I have ever read on this site. Awesome pairing of Sora and Kairi. It will leave you wanting to read more!!!**_

_**Until next time!! By the way, if you see any mistakes in the story, tell me so that I can fix them!!! Thank you!!!**_

_**-DarkBelieverAnge**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Yes! Chapter 11!!!!!! **_

_**Okay, onto the story.**_

_**Last chapter was the ball and stuff. This chapter is going to be focusing on classes and meetings. Lol. Have fun with it!!**_

Chapter Eleven

Kairi came into the library with a goofy grin on her face. She sat down and smiled at everyone. Yuffie was grinning like a fool too.

"I am so happy for you," she whispered. Kairi nodded her thanks. Yuffie nodded back. Kiara looked at both of them in confusion. Just when she was about to ask what they were talking about, Olette stormed into the room and sat right across from Kairi. She shot Kairi a murderous glance.

"How could you?" she yelled. The rooms were sound proof, even if Olette didn't realize that at the time. "How the hell could you steal him from me!" Kairi froze and looked at her dead on.

"I wouldn't steal Sora from you," she said. It broke her heart to say what she had to next. "He and I are only friends." Yuffie froze on hearing that and turned her head toward Kairi.

"He's not going to like that," she said frantically. Kairi smiled wistfully.

"That's not what fate wants from us," she said after a very long pause. Just then Kamari came in and grinned like a fool. She was followed by five male students. She motioned them to come in. Sora and Riku were among the five. Riku made his way to sit with Kairi. He grinned at her. Sora scowled at him and saw Olette attach herself to his arm. He looked at Kairi, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. He looked down and saw Olette have a smug expression. He looked at Yuffie, who was nodding. She shifted her eyes back and forth between Olette and Kairi. He looked at Kamari. She smiled to herself as she formed an idea in her head. She smiled and looked at all ten students.

"I brought you all together because you are my honors classes," she said. "And, I also have an idea… talk about your first love. If it's sexual, emotional or spiritual. We'll start with Yuffie." Yuffie straightened and grinned.

"When I was fourteen," she said. "There was this guy that was my neighbor. He had chocolate brown hair and steel blue eyes. He was a hunk. He was my first major crush. He had a girlfriend, though. She was beautiful. She was short, for him. She was about half an inch taller than me. But, she could put him in his place. Just with a look. She was awesome."

"Did you act on your crush?" Kamari asked her. Yuffie shook her head.

"He was always obsessed with his girlfriend. She was the one who won his heart, but I still waited. I waited for four years," she said. "I gave up when I saw him with her. They fit together, even though they broke up like four years ago. He had an almost angelic expression when he spoke to her. Even when they were arguing, he still looked happy. So, I didn't want to intrude. I gave up." Kairi smiled at her. Yuffie smiled back.

"Okay… next is Sora," Kamari said. Sora looked startled, but nodded. He looked right at Kairi when he spoke.

"I met my dream girl at a party," he said. She wrinkled her brows and his eyes danced with mischief. "She had on this light blue dress and these knee high black boots. She had a smile that would light up the room. The party was a masquerade one, put on by Yuffie." Yuffie gave thumbs up. Her parties, even now, were legendary and hard to get into. Sora smiled and continued on his story. "I was in tenth grade when I met her. She and I talked for about a half an hour. We were both drunk… and well, one thing led to another." He shrugged. "She was the only one who ever left my bed in a rush. She became like an obsession. She was the mysterious girl that I had never known. But, when I met her in school, it became apparent that she didn't remember me." He looked right at Kairi. She smiled and raised her hand.

"I'll go next," she volunteered. Kamari nodded. Kairi took a deep breath in. "There was this party in tenth grade. It was a Halloween one, and everyone was wearing masks and wigs. It was so no one could recognize each other. There was this one guy in all black. He had a black silk shirt, black jeans and black sneakers. Even his eye mask was black. He had vibrant blue eyes, though. They were sapphire blue eyes. They could make your heart swim. But the first question he said to me was, 'Where have you been all my life?' I thought that he was flirting with me, but as we got into conversation, I realized that he was serious. He would look at me in a way that made my breath stop. So, when we had talked for almost four hours, not a half an hour, we did something that I'll never forget. It was the best thing that I had ever experienced… it was my mistake though, to think that someone else was him, and I just realized it."

Sora wrinkled his eyebrows and then smiled like a fool.

"You actually thought that my brother was me?" he asked her. She nodded and he got up. He pulled her into a hug. "I was that great, huh?" he whispered in her ear. She swatted him and they sat down in the same seat. Olette turned red.

"Why are you doing this to me, Sora?" she asked him sneeringly. He grinned coldly.

"All you were after was my money," he said. "You don't have the right to ask me the reason for my actions when you have been cheating on me for months."

"OLETTE!" Yuffie screamed. "How could you do that? Haven't you done enough?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Olette yelled back. Riku calmly got up and looked at her.

"Go back to Hayner," he said calmly. He looked to Yuffie. She stood up and took his hand. He smiled down at her and looked at Sora and Kairi. "This is the secret that I couldn't tell you." They nodded in understanding. He and Yuffie left the room walking hand-in-hand. Sora looked at Kairi.

"Want to go? I've got to be at mom's in an hour," he said. She nodded and got up from their seat. He drew her into his embrace and walked down the library hall with his arm around her.

Neither of them knew that Kamari grinned like a Cheshire cat. She looked at Kiara and nodded.

"That was the whole goal of this class," she said. She grinned and got up. "You have some gossip for the paper, don't you?" Kiara nodded. She smiled. She was a reporter for the daily news on campus. Every juicy piece of gossip came from her. She took the classes where people were known to gossip and not care about anything else. She enrolled and listened. Then, she reported back to her editor, who was Kamari.

"They don't know about Olette and Axel yet, do they?" Kiara asked worriedly. Kamari shook her head.

"Let them sort it out," she said and took her books. She waved an arm over her shoulder as a signal for departure.

Kairi stood outside the library. She looked down at Sora, who was sitting on one of the benches.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him. He grinned up at her like a fool. He grabbed her waist and brought her in between his legs.

"I thought that you didn't recognize me," he said. "When you and my brother started going out, I had other obligations. I had to make sure that he stayed out of trouble. You were the reason why I did everything, though." He took a deep breath. "Any pain I could spare you was my best bet. So, I did the cover stories. He was the innocent one, I wasn't." Kairi gripped his hair and made him look up at her.

"Thank you for what you did," she said. He smiled wistfully and put his head to her waist. She took his head and caressed it. He smiled against her and they just were there like that.

"We should get going," he said. She nodded and they left hand in hand.

_**A/N: this was a very random chapter. I was very tired when I started it and semi-tired when I'm finishing it up. So, I am sorry if this chapter sucks, I'm just extremely tired right now. All I do is sleep. Lol, but everyone's got to have those times in their life.**_

_**Well, until next time!**_

_**DarkBelieverAnge**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimers: I don't own any KH games. **_

When they got home, they both grimaced. Axel was sitting at the bar with his face down on the counter. There were six whiskey bottles beside him that were all empty. Kairi sighed and started cleaning up the mess. She took the glass that was in Axel's hand and hid it from plain view. She took a cool cloth and rubbed it gently against his head. She motioned for Sora to stay back while she dealt with her brother. He slowly opened up his eyes and stared at her. His bloodshot eyes met her worried ones.

"What happened, Axel?" she whispered. He took her hand and grasped it tightly. He shook his head clear and began to speak.

"Today was my one year anniversary," he said. Kairi sighed and took his hand and led him upstairs. Sora slowly followed. He knew that Kairi would need his help putting Axel to bed. When he got up there, Axel was already sitting on the couch and Kairi was sitting on the coffee table. She nodded and he sat on the floor next to her.

"I've got to tell someone," Axel began. "I'm going insane thinking about her. I saw her the other day, and everything came back. I just… I don't know…

"She and I met at your high school graduation. She was graduating with you guys. She had long brown hair and beautiful green eyes. You could see the whole world in them," he said sadly. He didn't see the duplicate looks of shock on both Kairi and Sora's faces. "She and I started dating in secret because she said her father wouldn't approve. She and I met once a week at this small café outside of town. Then, we started meeting three times a week. It got up to five times a week before the end. She made me happy. I was able to talk to her like I could to no one else…

"But then, it happened. One day, she didn't show up at the café. She didn't even call. So, I went on one of the usual days and saw her making out with another guy. I confronted her afterwards and her reason why was that she was bored with me. I wasn't exciting to her anymore. She needed a new distraction. She needed another conquest. All I was to her was a toy," he smiled menacingly at the wall. Then, he turned tender when he saw how Sora unconsciously protected Kairi from everything. He had a look on him, that he probably didn't even realize, that warded off all evil from his beloved. Axel had never looked at Olette like that. That fact gave him hope. He had seen Zack look like that at Tifa. He had seen Leon look like that when he looked at Rinoa. Cloud looked at Aerith like that too. Axel grinned as he realized that they were staring at him.

"Y'know, all of those secret meetings weren't my style," he said. He sighed as realizations hit him. The types of realizations to the fact that he had wasted a year of his life pining for a bimbo who could never fulfill the gap in his heart. The type of realization that lets a person sees that they shed the tears for nothing, but the tears helped them grow. The waste was worth it, but it should have sped up a lot faster. But he was holding onto his feelings for so long that he couldn't let go when he knew instinctively that she was never the one for him.

Kairi got up and hugged him. She just held him lightly. He sighed and took her support. She always knew when to help. It was one of her best traits. She knew how to help someone and how to react to every situation. But she was his little sister first. If anyone had hurt her, he would make sure that he took care of them.

At least, he used to. He couldn't tell anymore because she had been taking care of him instead of him taking care of her. He couldn't believe how selfish he had been. He looked up and saw her smiling at Sora. Sora was smiling softly back. It was as if it was only them in the world.

"Hello?" a female voice called from downstairs. Axel instantly tensed, knowing that voice. Sora and Kairi winced. They saw Axel straighten and immediately sober up. He nodded to the both of them and waited for Sora.

"C'mon," he said. "She pried her fingers into you too." Sora didn't even ask how Axel knew that. Axel put a hand up to Kairi. "Go get Tifa. She's up in her apartment right now." Kairi nodded and tiptoed across the connecting balcony.

"Tifa," she whispered. Someone moved on the couch and before Kairi could get to the bedroom door, Zack's voice stopped her.

"Touch that door, and I'm dead," he said. Kairi turned and saw him get up from the couch. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. Kairi looked at the door and saw Tifa come out. She was glowering at Zack. Shit, they were in the middle of a fight.

"Why did you do it, Zack?" Tifa asked quietly. Tifa never asked anything quietly, unless she was really pissed off. Zack looked at her in annoyance.

"That girl hit on me," he said. "I was getting her off of me when you came in!" Tifa just shook her head.

"I didn't know that your preference for women went from dark brown hair and brown eyes to light brown hair and green eyes," she seethed. Zack made a biting remark. Kairi went out of the house, both of them didn't notice. They were too busy trading insults with each other. Kairi made her way back downstairs and grabbed the collar of Olette's shirt. Olette paled and Kairi tightened her grip.

"What do you want with my family?" she asked. Olette paled even more. "First you break my brother's heart. Then, you go and cause trouble for my cousin and his girlfriend. Wait his fiancée. Why are you doing this?" Olette laughed menacingly. She looked at Sora and smiled smugly.

"I want him," she said. She looked right at Kairi. "I won't stop making your family suffer until I have him. Next should be Rinoa and Leon, right? After that, how about the happy Cloud and Aerith? What if Aerith found me and Cloud in bed together?" Kairi gasped and felt Sora's hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw him sigh. She shook her head. He nodded. She shook her head again. He made her drop her hands and hugged her to him tightly.

"I love you," he whispered. No one else could hear him, so he said what he needed to. "I'll go along with it for a while. Let me plan something. That's what I'm good at. Just remember, if anything happens between her and I, I love you no matter what. I love you forever and always…

"If it takes longer than six months, get my mother involved," he said right into her ear. She nodded, and her vision got blurry. He wiped her tears away. "Fate is on our side, always." She shook her head. "We'll be together someday. I promise with my whole being."

He let her go and smiled sadly. He went to Olette and nodded. She smiled smugly and dragged him out of the bar.

A week later, Sora moved his stuff out of the house. Kairi didn't go out unless she absolutely had too.

Two weeks after the incident, she went to see her advisor. Her advisor looked at her in confusion. Kairi sat down in the leather chair and held a hand up.

"I want to study abroad," she said. The councilor just nodded and waited for an explanation. "I've never seen the world and I want to see it. Can I go to New York?"

The woman brought brochures and handed them to Kairi.

"It's a very elite program. But, with your grades and extracurricular activities, you should be able to get in. I'll call a favor from a friend of mine who works for the Dean over there. She'll help us out," she smiled. She saw Kairi's tired expression. She smiled kindly. "If you want a fresh start for a while, New York is the place to get it." She smiled at memories. "I had broken up with my boyfriend of two years before I went. I stayed a semester over in New York and was healed. It's very different lifestyle than the West Coast. It is very different, in a good way. You will be consumed with the lifestyle." Kairi looked up and started talking.

"My boyfriend and I had to separate because the girl that liked him was causing suffering on my family," she said, and tears started overflowing. "We had just said that we loved each other, and now this. I can't believe this. We had such a good life ahead of us." The councilor nodded. She smiled and looked at the brochures.

"This gives you a chance to see another culture in action," the councilor said. "It also gives you a time to recuperate and to become yourself again."

Kairi just nodded and started applying. It was two weeks before the semester ended.

"If you get in, the college will supply the tickets and the expenses. Just take it easy. I'll call you in a couple of days to tell you the results," the woman said. Kairi nodded and left in a haze.

She barely aced her finals for that semester, but somehow found the time to study and focus. The woman called her three days after Kairi had gone into her office. Kairi had gotten into the program. She was expected in New York in two weeks. The woman gave Kairi a list of places to go in her free time. She and Kairi talked for almost two hours. The woman had a lot more depth than Kairi had given her credit for.

Axel was the first one to hear. He just nodded and said that he was happy for her. Tifa had been overjoyed and had told her to get a purse for her when she was over there. She also said to have fun and make friends. Zack had smiled and his eyes had glinted mischievously. He whispered that he would be in the area because he was being shipped there for his last mission.

Riku hadn't said anything, but gave her a look. He gave her the look of utter disbelief. But he had smiled when she had told him that she would be fine and that she needed the break. She had said to him privately that everything overwhelmed her too much. She needed to escape. He just nodded and smiled sadly. She had smiled sadly.

Two weeks later, she was in New York.

_**A/N: Well, there was Olette's plot for revenge. How was it? (Don't worry, Sora and Kairi WILL get back together… just not yet… they've got two issues to work out… one being Roxas and the other being…)**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**DarkBelieverAnge**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Kairi was smiling as she listened to her professor rant on and on about Roman history. She had taken this history class because it was a part of the curriculum for the exchange students. She was taking notes, and listening, but her mind kept wandering to her home. She hadn't known what to expect when she had gotten to New York, but she knew that she didn't have to worry about anything concerning Sora.

Her roommate, a girl named Namine helped nurse Kairi's broken heart. She had provided tissues and swore Sora up and down. She was adamant about the fact that if she ever saw him, she would have something to say to him. Namine was great. She didn't ask too many questions and was always there to listen when Kairi wanted to talk. Kairi was just too tired of everything. She was exhausted because of the fact that a money hungry bitch would steal her boyfriend from beneath her. Kairi was more tired than angry because of the fact that she had run away from every little problem that she had had to face. Kairi, however didn't know about the problems that Tifa was facing back home.

Tifa glared at all of the people with notepads and microphones in front of her. She had opened the bar early this morning, and a flood of annoying people had stormed in at eight o'clock. Tifa hadn't said anything, but they were all getting on her nerves. She couldn't believe that these people were going to go after her friend just because she had escaped the madness of grief. Sora had gone off when he had learned that Kairi was gone. He now had his own apartment on the upper side of town. He had just looked at Tifa before he left and had said, "When I can get her back, I'll come home." Tifa had shaken her head.

"Sora, do you honestly think moving in with that tramp is going to make her come back to you?" Sora's expression had turned to one of complete sorrow. He had just shaken his head and looked at the floor. He wiped his eyes and looked back up at Tifa.

"She doesn't deserve me, don't you think I know that?" he whispered. "But I love her more than life itself. I will get her back."

_**A/N: Very short, and I am very sorry for that. But, something is better than nothing. The next chapter, when I can write it, will be a lot longer, I PROMISE! **_

_**Thank you for all of the +Favs, Story Alerts and anything else. I'm sorry that I'm like a month late, but believe me, there's another story of mine that I actually thought that I finished when I didn't, and so I have to finish it… besides this one.**_

_**Til next time,**_

_**DarkBelieverAnge**_


	14. Final Chapter

He had to find some way to get her back. That was his only reason for enjoying life right now. He didn't want to go to the person who could help him get her back, but he knew that he needed to. She was the thing that kept him going, and even if he had to go to the place that he dreaded, he would.

_Two weeks ago…_

_His mother stood in her office, looking at him from behind her desk. She sighed and shook her head._

"_You are going to marry Olette," she said. Sora had looked at her. He was about ready to say something, but she held up a hand. "No, you're going to marry her. We need her family's money and connections to help expand ours. You haven't fulfilled your duties as your grandfather's heir. There is work to be done."_

_Sora slammed his hand down on the desk. "I won't marry someone I don't love. There's only one woman I will ever consider marry."_

"_And she's left you," his mother reminded him coldly. Sora looked at her oddly._

"_You were never like this when I was a child," he said. "You were kind and loving."_

"_I had to be," she said. "Above all, I am a business woman. You are my son, yes, but you are also and asset. And this girl wants you, and we want her money. So, guess who's going to get married?" _

"_I'm not doing it," Sora said. "Disown me." And he walked out of his mother's office. He still couldn't believe the conversation, but he would find a way to do something. _

Present time…

So, here Sora was. He was standing outside of the house that he had vowed to never step in again. He drew in a deep breath and went in.

He went straight to his father's office and closed the door. His father looked up and scowled.

"You are not allowed on this premise," he growled. Arthur looked at his son, the one who he had never really claimed, and saw a tired look. Arthur paused and sighed. He knew that look because he had had it himself when he was the boy's age. "Sit down." He motioned for a chair. Sora sat down slowly and Arthur looked at his son.

"What do you want?" he asked. Sora sighed and looked at him. Then he began talking.

"The love of my life thinks I'm a piece of shit," he said. Arthur nodded. "I had to chose someone else over her, or else her family would have suffered more." Arthur raised an eyebrow, and smiled at his son.

"You seem to be content with the woman you're mother chose for you," he said. Then, the pieces put themselves together in his mind. "You're mother wanted you to marry this girl, didn't she? This girl is probably an heiress, am I right? Of course I'm right. It is your mother… dammit. I didn't want this to happen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked him angrily. Arthur sighed and took out a folder. He threw it at Sora.

"Read that and you'll know your answers," Arthur said. Sora opened the folder and started reading. When he was done, he started laughing.

"Seriously?" he laughed up a storm. "This thing has got to be a fake." Arthur shook his head and Sora's mouth gaped. "I can't be you heir. You and I hate each other."

"No, you hate me," Arthur said quietly. "There is a major difference. You have always been my heir. Roxas was created out of love, and you were created out of obligation. That did not mean that I did not love you. I just had a very tense way of showing it." His father shook his head and looked at Sora.

"I can get you to her, but that's all I can do," his father said. "I also put the idea into Roxas's head to go get Olette and declare his love for her." Sora's eyes narrowed at his father.

"And what am I supposed to do in return?" he said. His father smiled and raised a hand.

"Just be happy," he said. "Live the life I didn't have the opportunity to live. Be the man who you were meant to be, not the one that we want you to be.

"I'll get you tickets and someone will help you find her. The girl's name in Naminè. She's Kairi's roommate in New York. She'll help you."

Sora nodded and got up. He turned to his father. "I never really stopped respecting you. I just never took the time to understand you." His father nodded and waved him off. Sora left, and didn't see the huge smile his father had on his lips.

A couple of days later, kairi sat in the New York Library and was doing research for one of her term papers. She felt someone come up behind her hten sit next to her. She felt a hand go around hers roughly. She looked up and smiled. Sora was looking intensely at her and was smiling softly.

"You came back," she said. He nodded and brought her hand up to his cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent.

"My father saved me," he told her. She looked at him puzzled. He laughed softly and shook his head.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. The old man was the one who had someone watching you out here and was the one who set it up so that Roxas and Olette are getting married. I never had sex with her," he said. "I love you too much for that. I would never do that to you." Kairi nodded. She brought his other hand to her free hand and put it against her heart.

"My heart hasn't raced since I left you," she said shyly. "I had to leave. If I stayed when you were with her…. It would have been bad. I wouldn't have known what to do. I love you too much to do that to you. I thought in my head that if you were happy, I could be happy." She felt tears running down her cheeks.

"I made a promise to myself that I would get everything right before I saw you," Sora said. "Now that I have, come back home." Kairi paused and shook her head.

"I love you, but I need time to discover who I am. I need time to figure out what I want to do with my life," she told him sadly. Sora nodded and smiled at her.

"Well, I guess I'll have to stay with you then," he said. Kairi shook her head, but didn't stop smiling. Maybe it would be a good day after all.

_**A/N: Well, that's where I'm going to leave it. I loved this story, and I thank everyone who read it while it lasted. If you have any comments or opinions, just leave a review.**_

_**Until Next Time,  
DarkBelieverAnge **_


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